Weekly Intent

In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. the intention of my last weekend classes was on finding the inner freedom. As we moved through some difficult poses I invited the participants to find the physical freedom in the flow of breath. Robert Heller stated "fear is excitement without breath". Fear and freedom exist together. It is necessary and wise to fear for the physical safety. Yet we can also find freedom in the body's limitation. While breathing deeply we can celebrate the excitement of living in the body without being paralyzed by fear. To be free is to take the responsibility in learning our unique individual limitation and expand the ease of movement or flow within the physical limitation.

There are two types of freedom. First is the lower limit freedom which is the freedom from oppression, repression and suppression. Second is the upper limit freedom which is the freedom to live in the abundant flow of life. We cannot experience the freedom-to without the freedom-from. The lower limit freedom is what Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to inspire the citizens to overcome, so that all has the opportunity to explore the freedom to live in prosperity. The oppressors in and among us believe themselves to be free but they only get the lower limit freedom. We impose the upper limit freedom on ourselves by tightening the body, heart and mind in order to create muscle, emotional, and mental tensions which keep us in the confine of fear. Oppressors, repressors and suppressors subconsciously believe freedom is scarier than fear!

All phobias and fears are the unwillingness to let go. At the subtle level it is simply tension or rigidity which is the opposite of flow. Let-go means letting an experience flows through its complete cycle instead of oppressing, repressing or suppressing it. Often when I instruct the participants to soften and relax while in a pose, some undo the pose altogether. Learning to find the flow of release while in a particular pose or condition culminates in celebrating the freedom within the physical limitation. The upper limit freedom is the greater capacity to enjoy this breath as it feeds and ease the body, to revel in the sensations and emotions as they flow through the heart, belly and limbs, and to celebrate the inner vision in the flow of mental curiosity without the rigid tension of held thoughts or storyline. I wish you a life of freedom from unnecessary fear and the freedom to flow in love, abundance and creativity.